Penguins/NHL
Everything was going right for the Penguins against the Atlantic Division leading Devils who came into the game playing back to back games. Pittsburgh built a 3-1 lead with less than 9 minutes remaining in the third period. Max Talbot, Sidney Crosby, Evgeni Malkin all scored and Marc Fleury continued his stellar play through the first 51 minutes of the game but Devils forward Brendan Shanahan scored a power-play goal off a slap shot at 11:59 of the third period to stage the Devils comeback.
The Penguins halted the Devils momentum following Shanahan’s goal, until Jamie Langerbruner came up big for the Devils, for the second straight night. Langenbruner who tallied two goals against the Bruins on Thursday night including the OT winner, scored with 31 seconds in the game to tie the game at 3-3 and send the game to overtime.
Langenbruner struck again with one minute remaining in overtime to give the Devils a 4-3 win over the Penguins. The Penguins come out of tonight’s game very disappointed because they should have left with two points not one. The Penguins face off against the Toronto Maple Leafs Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.
Fleury makes 43 saves: Goaltender Marc Andre Fleury made 39 saves and played well for the fifth consecutive game. The negative is the Penguins and Fleury gave up three goals in the final thirteen minutes of the game.
Malkin reaches milestone: NHL points leader Evgeni Malkin scored his 20th goal of the season in the second period. Malkin’s second period tally was his 100th career goal. Malkin leads the NHL with 20 goals – 53 assists – 73 pts and has 100 career goals in 210 games.
Cooke set to return: Forward Matt Cooke is eligible to return to the lineup Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs. Cooke has served his two game suspension but has been battling an illness. The Penguins did not have a mandatory morning skate on Saturday.
Garon to make 1st start in Pens uniform: Newly acquired goaltender Mathieu Garon will make his first start in a Penguins uniform against the Maple Leafs on Saturday. Garon has been sharp in practice and has shown very good rebound control.
Sidney Crosby has six points since the All-Star break. Defensemen Hal Gill and Alex Goligoski were the Penguins healthy scratches. Devils forward Brendan Shanahan who signed a one year – 800k pro-rated deal has three goals in five games since signing with the Devils in early January.
